Offshore Atlas Project: Methodology and Results

The Offshore Atlas Project (OAP) grouped 4,325 Miocene and older and 5,622 Pliocene and Pleistocene productive sands in the Gulf of Mexico into 91 chronostratigraphic hydrocarbon plays to aid the oil and gas industry with regional hydrocarbon exploration and field development. OAP has produced a two-volume atlas series entitled Atlas of Northern Gulf of Mexico Gas and Oil Reservoirs. Volume 1 comprises Miocene and older reservoirs, while volume 2 comprises Pliocene and Pleistocene reservoirs. Chronozones (Reed et al., 1987) were used to define geologic ages in the Gulf of Mexico. A chronozone is a time-stratigraphic unit defined by a particular benthic foraminifera biostratigraphic zone. The 26 chronozones identified by Reed et al. (1987) were further grouped into 14 Cenozoic and 2 Mesozoic chronozones for OAP. A composite type log (CTL), which shows the chronostratigraphic relationship of all productive sands in a field, was constructed for each of the 876 proved federal fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Depositional facies (retrogradational, aggradational, progradational, and submarine fan)were next identified on each CTL. The four facies were identified primarily according to characteristic SP-curve shapes, paleoecozones, and sand content. The chronozones and depositional facies identified on each CTL were then correlated among fields across the Gulf of Mexico. All productive sands correlated to the same chronozone and depositional facies were then identified as a unique play. Both federal and state fields in the Gulf of Mexico contain original proved reserves (sum of cumulative production and remaining proved reserves) estimated at 12.481 Bbbl of oil and condensate and 156.466 Tcf of gas (40.322 Bboe [sum of liquids and energy equivalent gas]). Of this, 9.943 Bbbl of oil and condensate and 122.263 Tcf of gas (31.698 Bboe) have been produced. Miocene plays contain the most total original proved reserves with 41.9 %, followed by Pleistocene plays (36.2 %), Pliocene plays (18.6 %), Mesozoic plays (2.9 %), and Oligocene plays (0.4 %). Miocene plays have produced the largest amount of total hydrocarbons, as well, at 43.5 % followed by Pleistocene plays (36.5 %), Pliocene plays (19.1 %), Oligocene plays (0.5 %), and Mesozoic plays (0.4 %). Just over two-thirds of the Gulf of Mexico's total original proved reserves are contained in progradational facies (67.4 %),with the remainder comprising submarine-fan facies (18.5 %), aggradational facies (9.9 %), retrogradationalfacies (2.4 %), combination facies (1.7 %), and caprock and reef reservoirs (0.1 %). Total cumulative production from the different facies closely mimics the distribution of original proved reserves. Of the 91 plays, the lower Pleistocene progradational play (LPL P.1) contains the most original proved gas reserves (10.5 %) and has produced the most gas (11.4 %). However, the upper upper Miocene eastern progradational play (UM3 P.1B) contains the most original proved oil and condensate reserves (18.9 %) and has produced the most oil and condensate (21.4%). Several technical studies resulting from OAP have been published. Hunt and Burgess (1995) described the distribution of OAP plays deposited by the ancestral Mississippi River delta system in the north-central Gulf of Mexico over the past 24 million years. The lower Miocene plays are restricted to the westernmost portion of the Louisiana shelf. In the late middle Miocene, the depocenter migrated east of the present-day Mississippi River delta. During the late upper Miocene, the depocenter began migrating back to the west and prograded basinward, and it continued to do so throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Lore and Batchelder (1995) discussed how OAP plays can be used to find exploration targets and assess undiscovered resources. As an exploration tool, OAP play maps can be used to identify conceptual submarine-fan plays downdip of established shallow water producing facies, and to identify wells where a known producing facies or chronozone has not yet been reached. As an assessment tool, the extensive data sets associated with each OAP play can be used to infer statistically the size of undiscovered resources in a play to determine if exploration in that play is economically justifiable. Lore et al. (1995) estimated the amount of undiscovered conventionally recoverable resources in the Gulf of Mexico, basing their assessment on previous work performed for OAP. Mean level estimates show that, by far, submarine-fan plays have the greatest potential for additional oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, with 75.1 % and 70.4 % of the total oil and gas resources, respectively. Mean level estimates for the 13 OAP Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene chronozones show that upper Pleistocene plays have the most oil resource potential (24.3 %), while lower Pleistocene plays have the most gas resource potential (20.6 %).     

北极地区油气资源的空间分布状况及特征分析

近年来,北极地区油气资源备受瞩目,北极地区油气资源开发利用开展得如火如荼,为北极国家能源产量增长带来了新的契机。文章以北极国家为出发点,采用文献梳理法,系统研究俄罗斯、美国、挪威、加拿大等北极国家在北极地区的油气资源勘探、开发情况;采用统计分析法,分析北极地区待发现油气资源与已发现油气资源的空间分布特征。研究发现,北极地区的油气资源在空间上呈现出极不均衡的特点。伴随着油气勘探技术的突破以及北极航道的逐渐开通,北极国家纷纷加快北极地区油气开发活动的进程,目前北极国家油气开发活动主要在陆地,而未来将逐步迈向北极近海。中国作为北极事物的重要利益攸关方,可以积极与北极国家开展合作,进而参与到北极地区油气资源的开发进程。     

海南省海域油气资源特征及勘探开发前景

海南省海域共圈定新生代油气沉积盆地18个,成藏地质条件良好,资源潜力巨大,具有良好的开发前景。位于南海北部的珠三坳陷、琼东南盆地和莺歌海盆地距海南岛较近,开采条件优越,是我国最早进行海洋油气勘探开发的区域,目前已经形成了东方、乐东、崖城和文昌4个油气田群,是我国海上油气的主产区之一。今后海南省油气资源勘探开发方向主要为上述三大油气盆地,通过对探明储量的进一步开发和对中深部层位的勘探,达到接续增储的目标;随着陵水17-2大型气田的发现和天然气水合物试采成功等一系列技术突破,海南省海域油气勘探开发正向着中深水和非常规能源领域进军。因此,海南省要依靠区位优势,借助油气体制改革的机遇,深入参与国家油气勘探开发活动,推动地方经济发展。     

海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价特点浅析

相比陆上油气开发工程和其他海洋工程而言,海洋油气开发工程有其自身的特点,海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价应关注的内容与其他工程有所不同。文章通过分析海洋油气开发工程的特点以及对环境影响的特点,提出海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价要点,即包括施工期悬浮泥沙及钻井液钻屑排放对海洋生态环境的影响、运营期含油生产水排放对海洋生态环境的影响、工程建设对海洋环境敏感目标的影响、溢油事故环境风险分析、污染防治及生态保护措施,并针对目前海洋油气开发工程环境影响评价存在的问题提出改进建议。     

国内外深水区油气勘探新进展

深水区油气资源丰富，近年来深水油气勘探不断升温。在全球6大洲18个深水盆地中已发现约580亿桶油当量的油气资源。目前，巴西、美国墨西哥湾的深水油气田已经投入生产，而且产量不断增加，西非地区也已进入开发阶段，西北欧、地中海以及亚太地区的许多国家也都在积极开展深水油气勘探或开发。海上油气钻探不断向深水区和超深水区发展，探井数目也在继续增加，投资力度不断加强，储量每年也有很大的增长。深水油气勘探成功率平均达到30％，其中，西非的勘探成功率最高。深水区烃源岩生烃潜力较好，最好的烃源岩主要分布于侏罗系、白垩系和第三系的地层中，储层以浊积岩储层为主，盖层通常比较发育，大多数圈闭都与地层因素有关。我国南海北部陆坡深水区盆地属准被动边缘盆地，从烃源岩、储层、盖层、圈闭到运聚条件等都具备了形成大型油气田的基本地质条件，具有丰富的资源前景。     

中国深水海域油气及相关资源勘探开发进展及关键技术

深水油气及相关资源的开发是我国解决能源紧缺问题的关键,我国南海深水海域蕴藏着丰富的油气资源,天然气水合物资源赋存也有着良好的前景.本文探讨了深水油气及相关资源开发勘探技术的进展和技术发展方向.     

Forecasting rates of hydrocarbon discoveries in a changing economic environment

A method is presented for the estimation of undiscovered oil and gas resources in partially explored areas where economic truncation has caused some discoveries to go unreported; therefore distorting the relationship between the observed discovery size distribution and the parent or ultimate field size distribution. The method is applied to the UK's northern and central North Sea provinces. A discovery process model is developed to estimate the number and size distribution of undiscovered fields in this area as of 1983. The model is also used to forecast the rate at which fields will be discovered in the future. The appraisal and forecasts pertain to fields in size classes as small as 24 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). Estimated undiscovered hydrocarbon resources of 11.79 billion BOE are expected to be contained in 170 remaining fields. Over the first 500 wildcat wells after 1 January 1983, the discovery rate in this areas is expected to decline by 60% from 15 million BOE per wildcat well to six million BOE per wildcat well.     

合成地震记录制作在油气勘探中的应用

合成地震记录的制作是油气勘探的基础,它是连接地质、测井和地震资料的桥梁。从合成地震记录的基本原理出发,结合油气勘探过程中的具体研究实例,分析了VSP资料与合成地震记录时深关系的差异性、地震资料对合成记录的影响和子波的选择;最后,利用勘探实例着重用阐述合成地震记录在油气勘探中的应用,主要包括把握区域速度、明确储层地震响应特征、识别地震资料的多次波和剔除地震资料的地质＂假象＂。     

Possibility of Large Deposits of Gas Hydrates in Deeper Waters of India

The available geological and thermodynamic data, essential for the formation and accumulation of gas hydrates, have been integrated and broadly interpreted for the deeper waters of India. The preliminary studies indicate that, in all probability, vast gas hydrate resources exist in the shallow sediments under deep waters. The area of the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, off the coast of India and Andaman Islands, have accumulated thick sediments, over 22 and 10 km, respec tively, during collision of the Indian Plate with the Tibetan Plate. Bottom Simulating Reflectors (BSRs), indicating the likely presence of gas hydrates, have been observed from multichannel and single-channel seismic reflec tion data west of the Andaman Islands and Kerala-Konkan offshore. The Indian continental shelf, slope, and rise areas have, at places, shown the presence of gas-charged sediments and gas seeps through faults. There are commercial oil and gas fields in the shallow waters of both the east and west coasts of India. These are indicative of generation of both biogenic as well as thermogenic gases in the offshore areas of India. For the first time, an attempt has been made to estimate in-place gas hydrate resources under deep waters of India beyond 600 m water depth to the legal continental shelf boundary, and to the Andaman Islands. The gas hydrate resources appear to be vast, and require extensive exploratory efforts for their precise mapping and quantitative assessment.     

莺歌海油气资源开发区工程地质和灾害地质特征

根据单道地震、浅地层剖面、旁扫声纳和海底取样等实测资料,分析和评价了莺歌海油气资源开发区的工程地质和灾害地质环境。研究结果表明,研究区海底地形地貌较为复杂,存在潮流沙脊、侵蚀冲沟、海底沙波、麻坑、埋藏古河道和古湖泊、浅层气、埋藏珊瑚礁和滑塌断层等潜在的灾害地质因素,对海上石油平台和输油管线等工程设施构成直接或潜在的危害。根据地形、地貌和沉积物物理力学特征,将研究区划分为内陆架堆积平原区、陆架潮流沙脊区、内陆架侵蚀平原区、外陆架平原区和大陆坡区5个工程地质区。其中研究区东部的潮流沙脊区和东南部的陆坡区,海底地形复杂,活动性的潮流沙脊和断层发育,是海底工程建设的危险区,应引起高度重视。     

Oil well produced water discharges to the North Sea. Part II: comparison of deployed mussels (Mytilus edulis) and the DREAM model to predict ecological risk

Large volumes of water often are produced with oil and gas from offshore platforms. The produced water is separated from the oil and gas and either reinjected into a deep formation or discharged to the ocean. The Norwegian oil and gas industry advocates ecological risk assessment as the basis for managing produced water discharges to the North Sea. In this paper, we compare estimates of ecological risks to water-column communities based on data on hydrocarbon residues in soft tissues of blue mussels deployed for a month near offshore platforms and based on predictions of the Dose related Risk and Effect Assessment Model (DREAM). The study was performed near produced water discharges to the Tampen and Ekofisk Regions of the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea. Because polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are considered the most important contributors to the ecological hazard posed by produced water discharges, comparisons made here focus on this group of compounds. The mussel approach is based on predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of individual PAH, estimated from PAH residues in mussels following deployment for a month near several produced water discharges, and predicted no effects concentrations (PNECs) based on a K(ow) regression model. In the DREAM method, PECs for three PAH fractions are estimated in the three-dimensional area around produced water discharge with the DREAM model. PNECs for each fraction are based on the chronic toxicity of a representative PAH from each fraction divided by an assessment factor to account for uncertainty in the chronic value. The mussel method gives much lower estimates of ecological risk than the DREAM method. The differences are caused by the much lower PNECs used in DREAM than derived from the regression model, and by the lower concentrations of aqueous PAH predicted by DREAM than estimated from PAH residues in mussel tissues. However, the two methods rank stations at different distances from produced water discharges in the same order and both identify 2- and 3-ring PAHs as the main contributors to the ecological risk of produced water discharges. Neither method identifies a significant ecological risk of PAH in the upper water column of the oil fields. The DREAM model may produce an overly conservative estimate of ecological risk of produced water discharges to the North Sea.     

美国墨西哥湾海上油气发现与生产评述

评述了美国墨西哥湾深海油气储量、墨西哥湾原有的油气发现、墨西哥湾浅水和深水的油气发现统计、深水钻井重获许可后开发的新进展、墨西哥湾油田原油生产数据以及新发现开始生产石油的情况.     

南黄海前古近系油气地震勘探策略

南黄海前古近系油气储层时代老、埋藏深,地震勘探中仍存在反射能量弱、信噪比低和成像质量差等难题。在分析目标层岩石地球物理特征和地震、地质条件及地震反射机制基础上,提出了南黄海前古近系油气地震勘探策略;在地震数据采集中,应在海况较好的条件采用长排列、高覆盖次数和较大容量气枪震源施工;数据处理的重点应为多次波消除、噪音衰减、速度分析和成像,针对深层弱反射信号的处理难题,建议采用叠前时间偏移和共反射面元叠加等先进的处理技术。     

平湖油气田主断裂西部烃源评价及油源对比

平湖油气田主力含油气区位于平湖主断裂以东区域,油源主要来源于东部生烃凹陷的半封闭海湾暗色泥岩和煤层.公司于2011年11月在主断裂西部钻了一口探井XY井,目的是为探测主断裂西部含油气情况,扩大油气储量.结果钻遇油气层12m,测试获日产气14.66×104m3,日产油107.8 m3,取得了一定突破.为进一步评价西部含油气规模,钻后进行了油源对比研究,认为西部的油气主要是东部运移聚集的结果,西部源岩也有一定贡献.西部有形成一定规模油气藏的潜力.     

U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) Prelease Geological and Geophysical (G & G) Data Acquisition: A 20-Year Retrospective, 1976-1996

Since 1976, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has administered its prelease geological and geophysical (G & G) data acquisition program through Title 30, Part 251, of the Code of Federal Regulations, which govern permitting, acquisitions, and data release. Leading indicators of offshore oil and gas activity are the number of permits issued to industry, associated mileage, and expenditures. Over the last 20 years, permit activity has indicated that most of the oil and gas surveying has been in the Gulf of Mexico, where 80 % of all permits have been issued, followed by Alaska (10 %), the Pacific (7 %), and the Atlantic (3 %). These statistics correlate with the dominant position of the central and western Gulf of Mexico areas in oil and gas activity. More than 95 % of all permits were issued for geophysical exploration, mostly for two-dimensional (2-D) common-depth-point (CDP) seismic data. However, over the last 10 years, permits for three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data have averaged 25 % of all geophysical permits and, by 1996, made up approximately half of all geophysical permits offshore-wide. Between 1976 and the early 1990s, industry shot approximately 500,000 linemiles of 2-D CDP data each year on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Of that total, MMS acquired approximately50,000 line-miles annually. In the 1990s, parallel with industry, MMS increased its acquisition of 3-D seismic data in concert with the development and use of interactive workstations. The majority of 2-D and 3-D data have been acquired in the Gulf of Mexico by a ratio of 2:1 over Alaska, the next largest data inventory. With regard to MMS expenditures for G & G data, from 1976 through the 1980s, Alaska, having more offshore area than the other three regions combined, had the largest portion. However, in the 1900s, the vast majority of expenditures have been in the Gulf of Mexico. Over the years, permit totals, mileage acquired, and expenditures for data reflect trends of oil and gas pricing, limitations of offshore moratoria, and a shift of industry emphasis to foreign theaters.     

U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) Prelease Geological and Geophysical (G & G) Data Acquisition: A 20-Year Retrospective, 1976-1996

Since 1976, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has administered its prelease geological and geophysical (G & G) data acquisition program through Title 30, Part 251, of the Code of Federal Regulations, which govern permitting, acquisitions, and data release. Leading indicators of offshore oil and gas activity are the number of permits issued to industry, associated mileage, and expenditures. Over the last 20 years, permit activity has indicated that most of the oil and gas surveying has been in the Gulf of Mexico, where 80 % of all permits have been issued, followed by Alaska (10 %), the Pacific (7 %), and the Atlantic (3 %). These statistics correlate with the dominant position of the central and western Gulf of Mexico areas in oil and gas activity. More than 95 % of all permits were issued for geophysical exploration, mostly for two-dimensional (2-D) common-depth-point (CDP) seismic data. However, over the last 10 years, permits for three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data have averaged 25 % of all geophysical permits and, by 1996, made up approximately half of all geophysical permits offshore-wide. Between 1976 and the early 1990s, industry shot approximately 500,000 linemiles of 2-D CDP data each year on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Of that total, MMS acquired approximately50,000 line-miles annually. In the 1990s, parallel with industry, MMS increased its acquisition of 3-D seismic data in concert with the development and use of interactive workstations. The majority of 2-D and 3-D data have been acquired in the Gulf of Mexico by a ratio of 2:1 over Alaska, the next largest data inventory. With regard to MMS expenditures for G & G data, from 1976 through the 1980s, Alaska, having more offshore area than the other three regions combined, had the largest portion. However, in the 1900s, the vast majority of expenditures have been in the Gulf of Mexico. Over the years, permit totals, mileage acquired, and expenditures for data reflect trends of oil and gas pricing, limitations of offshore moratoria, and a shift of industry emphasis to foreign theaters.     

Input, accumulation and cycling of materials on the continental slope off Cape Hatteras: An introduction

The studies reported in this special issue ofDeep-Sea Research are largely derived from data collected as part of programs supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) in response to concerns about the effect of oil and gas exploration on the largely unknown continental slope environment. Results of the MMS U.S. South Atlantic continental slope and rise program conducted off the Carolinas from Cape Hatteras to off Charleston in depths ranging from 600–3500 m identified the importance of the slope off Cape Hatteras in cycling of materials from the shelf to the deep sea. Other more detailed investigations followed which filled numerous gaps in our knowledge of the role played by such special regions of the continental slope in the global cycling of carbon and other materials.     

天然气水合物研究的新进展

天然气水合物的调查评价刚刚起步，有关其成藏机理等许多问题有待解决。最近国际上关于天然气水合物资源和成藏机理的研究有新的进展，现根据大量的实际调查资料重新估算了天然气水合物资源量，并认为过去报道的资源量过高；海底天然气水合物的聚集与烃流体的垂向运移有关，泥火山底辟构造控制了海底天然气水合物的聚集和分布；天然气水合物的开采方式与常规油气藏开发不同，宜采用简单加热法、抑制剂法和减压法开采；近期应主要进行海底及浅层的天然气水合物勘探。     

西湖凹陷油气录井技术识别与评价

西湖凹陷目前已发现的油气层主要集中在平湖组和花港组储层之中。平湖组主力烃源岩的有机质类型以Ⅲ型为主,主要形成气藏（含凝析气藏）和轻质油藏,其具有流动性强、极易挥发等特点,烃类损失较大。通过目前应用的几种录井技术来看,泥浆综合气测录井能较好的识别油气层,通过对C1参数的矫正能够很好的识别出油气显示层,根据各气测参数的特征变化,并能对油气层的性质进行初步的较准确评价。地化录井、定量荧光录井由于受到烃类损失大的影响,在对油气层识别及评价中不及气测录井敏感。     

实孔径成像声纳在海底油气管线探测中的应用

利用成像声纳对油气管线进行探测,是重要的声学测量技术手段之一。侧扫声纳和环扫声纳是两种典型的实孔径成像声纳,介绍了这两种声纳的成像特点,分别从搭载平台、扫测特点、参数显示和声图特征等4个方面进行了比较,结合工程实例给出了两种声纳对海底油气管线探测的应用效果,分析比较了二者的优缺点。所得结论对于了解和掌握侧扫声纳和环扫声纳设备性能,进行海底油气管线检测和状态评估具有重要的工程实用意义。